The Josh Rosen Trade
The Josh Rosen Trade
Remember when the Arizona Cardinals moved up in the 2018 draft to select their quarterback of the future, Josh Rosen? Good times for Arizona, right? Remember when those same Arizona Cardinals went 3-13, secured the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, and effectively sealed Rosen’s fate as a Cardinal? Not so good times in Arizona. But fear not desert natives! This year’s quarterback of the future, the 2019 number one selection Kyler Murray is here! So with Kyler Murray now in Arizona, what did they do with Josh Rosen? They sent his talents to Miami. Let’s assess what they got in return.
For their 10th overall selection and quarterback of the future, the Arizona Cardinals received a second round pick (62nd overall) and a fifth rounder from the Miami Dolphins. Now unless that fifth-round pick turns out to be the next Tom Brady, the Dolphins stole what could be their signal caller for the next ten years. Now, Arizona did pick Andy Isabella with that second round pick, and I’ve been very high on him as a slot receiving prospect, but still, in today’s NFL speedy slot receivers are a dime a dozen. Maybe Kyler Murray is the next Russell Wilson and this trade doesn’t really make an impact on the future, but for the time being, it sure looks like the Cardinals wasted their first-round pick last year.
Let’s look at the Josh Rosen of it all; why did his trade value plummet to the point where he could only go for two picks out of the first round? Well, he didn’t have a great rookie year. That might be an understatement, compared to his fellow rookie quarterbacks, he looked awful. But mark my words, Josh Rosen is not a bad quarterback. I repeat, Josh Rosen is NOT a bad quarterback. Don’t forget, coming into his draft year, his tangible assets were unquestioned. Some even called him the most talented passer in the 2018 draft. The knock on Rosen that dropped him to 10 was his perceived negative attitude. Let’s figure out why he struggled so much. First, it is very hard to throw a football from your back. Josh Rosen was sacked 45 times in the 14 games he played. That was about 10% of every attempted pass. Now, sometimes rookie quarterbacks can struggle to find a rhythm, hold the ball too long, flush the pocket too early, etc. but this is solely on a substandard offensive line. Besides a swiss- cheese offensive line, let’s look at the play-calling. Rosen struggled to find a good rapport with his head coach. Now, that coach is gone, but Kyler Murray’s guy was brought in, so it was obvious how that was going to pan out. Lastly, the Cardinals defense was terrible. Not to understate it, they were bad. The last thing a rookie quarterback wants to do is constantly be in a position where his offense has to put up 35+ points to have a chance every game.
So there you have it, Josh Rosen to the Dolphins, best for him, best for the Dolphins, and maybe Arizona can survive it. In the meantime, does anybody think Kyler Murray actually bought Josh Rosen’s apartment?
-By: Nick Selko